After wrapping up stellar college career at Western State, Eaton’s Austin Ekeler shifts focus on pursuing pro career

» Austin Ekeler is a 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior running back and Eaton High School alum, who just wrapped up his stellar college football career with Western State Colorado University.

» He will be pursuing a career in the NFL, leading up to the draft April 27-29.

» A standout since his freshman season, he broke nearly every Western State career rushing record, carrying the ball 932 times for 5,857 yards and 55 touchdowns.

» This past season, he was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s leader in rushing yards and rushing yards per game, averaging 149.5 rushing yards per game. He had 1,495 total rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns in 10 games, despite missing some time down the stretch.

» He was named to three All-American teams (six in his career) and was one of nine national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent to the Heisman.

» About his many accolades, Ekeler said: “You don’t really think about it during the season. During the season, you’re just thinking about being the best player you can be. And, then those (honors) all come at the end of the season. Looking back, it’s good to have those, just for reminiscing in the future and to tell my kids one day.”

» Of the many memorable moments Ekeler had during his college career, Ekeler lists a road game against the University of Northern Colorado on Sept. 5, 2015, and various games against the Colorado School of Mines the past couple years as the most memorable.

Ekeler ran for 226 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 26 yards in a 42-34 loss to Division I UNC.

Ekeler led Western State to a 45-31 win against then-23rd-ranked Mines, rushing for 316 yards and three touchdowns on Sept. 24.

“There are a couple games in there that I won’t ever forget in my lifetime,” Ekeler said.

» Ekeler is a Natural Resources major at Western State. He interned with Noble Energy this past summer and said he could ultimately pursue a career with the company once his football days are over.

» In his final three years of high school at Eaton, he rushed for 4,393 yards and 70 touchdowns, including 2,398 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior in 2012.

Austin Ekeler really isn't much of a dreamer.

In fact, when you hear coaches describe his work ethic, one might wonder if Ekeler even has time to sleep, much less dream.

While most people who have a propensity to dream tend to linger in a perennial state of fantasy, Ekeler's world is that of sheer reality.

A handful of years ago, the former Eaton High School football superstar realized his goal of becoming one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the state, regardless of classification.

Over the past four years with Western State Colorado University in Gunnison, he has realized the lofty ambition of being one of the country's top running backs in all of Division II — arguably as tough to stop as some of the better ball-carriers in Division I.

Now, with his famed college career behind him, Ekeler is shifting his focus toward realizing a lifelong dream — err, make that a lifelong pursuit — of playing in the NFL.

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With April's NFL Draft just a handful of months away, the 5-foot-9, 195-pound bulldozer Ekeler isn't relaxing one bit, hoping to ultimately end up on an NFL roster this summer, by draft selection or as an undrafted free agent signee.

"I think the guy can play on Sundays … He just needs to get into a camp, and I think it will be very difficult for any team to not keep him," Western State coach Jas Bains said. "I've just never met anybody as competitive as Austin, with everything he does. Heck, he could be throwing a piece of balled-up paper into a garbage can. The guy wants to be the best at everything he does."

Bains has at least some idea of what the rare Division II athlete capable of playing on Sundays looks like.

Before Bains came to Gunnison in 2010, he spent five years as the secondary coach and special teams coordinator at Chadron (Neb.) State.

While there, he got an up-close look at Danny Woodhead, who ran for 7,962 yards to set what was at the time an NCAA all-divisions career rushing record before wrapping up his career with the Eagles and moving onto a lucrative career in the NFL in 2009.

Bains said Ekeler's impact with the Mountaineers and his overall dominance at the Division II level is comparable to that of Woodhead.

"He's been the face of our program since he arrived," Bains said of Ekeler. "He's probably one of the best players to come out of Western in a long time and, just looking at the numbers, probably the best tailback ever to play at Western."

Bains said when he sees Ekeler get a little bit of running room, he has the same thought he did with Woodhead.

"You get one-on-one out in space and good luck to the defender," Bains said.

Ekeler wrapped up his collegiate career this past month. He was named to three different All-American teams — bringing his career total to six — and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman.

He is the first Western State player to ever be a finalist for the award.

For four years, he put up video game-like numbers for the Mountaineers. Even while sitting out seven of the last eight quarters of this season, he broke nearly every Western State career rushing record, carrying the ball 932 times for 5,857 yards and 55 touchdowns.

Always looking forward, the driven Ekeler has shifted his sights toward impressing NFL scouts, as he hopes to partake in the University of Colorado's pro day, for which team officials will set a date after the Buffs wrap up their season in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday.

"I'm putting all my efforts right now toward getting to the next level," Ekeler said Wednesday, after wrapping up a workout with his personal trainer in Aurora.

"I'm staying in shape, making sure I'm getting faster and stronger throughout these next few weeks. It just all leads up to that pro day."

Much like Ekeler, Woodhead drew little to no interest from Division I programs after he came out of North Platte (Neb.) High School, deemed too small at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds.

But, also like Woodhead, judging Ekeler merely at first glance would prove fruitless.

Ekeler packs a lot of punch in his somewhat diminutive frame, and he may be one of college football's most powerful running backs, pound for pound.

Bains said most, if not all, of the NFL's 32 teams have spoken with him about Ekeler. Many scouts from those teams flat-out didn't believe Bains when he told them Ekeler's weight room numbers.

Thank goodness for digital video, in which there is plenty of Ekeler tossing up gaudy amounts of weight — footage Bains has eagerly shared with skeptics.

"Seeing is believing" may as well be Ekeler's catchphrase.

An up-close look at the way the agile Ekeler cuts up the field, hurdles a defender or delivers a bone-jarring block can provide just enough evidence that maybe the workhorse from the small town of Eaton is good enough to play on Sundays. At least that's what Ekeler is hoping to prove in the next handful of months.

"It goes back as far as high school," Ekeler said. "Coming from Eaton, Colorado. Everyone is like, 'Where in the heck is Eaton, Colorado?' … It's just been a mission for me to set out and prove myself. "

The Austin Ekeler File

» Austin Ekeler is a 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior running back and Eaton High School alum, who just wrapped up his stellar college football career with Western State Colorado University.

» He will be pursuing a career in the NFL, leading up to the draft April 27-29.

» A standout since his freshman season, he broke nearly every Western State career rushing record, carrying the ball 932 times for 5,857 yards and 55 touchdowns.

» This past season, he was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s leader in rushing yards and rushing yards per game, averaging 149.5 rushing yards per game. He had 1,495 total rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns in 10 games, despite missing some time down the stretch.

» He was named to three All-American teams (six in his career) and was one of nine national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II equivalent to the Heisman.

» About his many accolades, Ekeler said: “You don’t really think about it during the season. During the season, you’re just thinking about being the best player you can be. And, then those (honors) all come at the end of the season. Looking back, it’s good to have those, just for reminiscing in the future and to tell my kids one day.”

» Of the many memorable moments Ekeler had during his college career, Ekeler lists a road game against the University of Northern Colorado on Sept. 5, 2015, and various games against the Colorado School of Mines the past couple years as the most memorable.

Ekeler ran for 226 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 26 yards in a 42-34 loss to Division I UNC.

Ekeler led Western State to a 45-31 win against then-23rd-ranked Mines, rushing for 316 yards and three touchdowns on Sept. 24.

“There are a couple games in there that I won’t ever forget in my lifetime,” Ekeler said.

» Ekeler is a Natural Resources major at Western State. He interned with Noble Energy this past summer and said he could ultimately pursue a career with the company once his football days are over.

» In his final three years of high school at Eaton, he rushed for 4,393 yards and 70 touchdowns, including 2,398 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior in 2012.